Ian McKellen’s Monologue

Ian McKellen: Thank you, thank you very much indeed! Well, here we all are. And here I am hosting “Saturday Night Live”. Why, you might ask. And all through these rehearsals, I’ve been asking myself the same thing, actually. You know, A classical actor, used to doing Stremberg and Chekhov and Skakespeare – plays that have been around for centuries – and here I am performing work that’s only been around since yesterday afternoon. Now, honestly, they’re still writing some of the scripts right now! I guess so it’s not too obvious.

People are always telling me I should do more comedy. Well, this show will show them – they’ll never ask that again! To think I could be sunning myself in Los Angeles waiting for the Oscars; or be at home in London seeing my 95-year old stepmother, who I don’t get to see often enough; or I could be on holiday with my boyfriend in New Zealand, there’s a thought. But, now, I’m here. Here in New York doing “Saturday Night Live”. Basically, it’s just vanity, I suppose. But I love this troupe of players, this company, the regulars on “Saturday Night Live”. Especially that Jimmy Fallon, isn’t he cute! most hosts get around to thanking the cast at the end of the show, I think it’s worth thanking them right now, because I need them on my side.

I’m not sure they realize they’re part of a very old theater tradition – it’s called Review. Did you know Maggie Smith – Dame Maggie – started off in review when she was a kid. She’s still brilliant at one-liners – if you’ve seen her in “Gosford Park”, you know what I mean. And when Maggie and I were starting out, she dragged my hero, Laurence Olivier, to come and see me act in London. And subsequently put me into his national theater company, along with a young actor called Anthony Hopkins. And who would have thought that after all those years in the classics, Dame Maggie would end up being best known as the Harry Potter Lady, Tony Hopkins best known for eating people’s faces, and they’d make me into an action figure! I love my action figures, I play with them all day long.

Anyway! It’s really, really fun and great to be here, I feel really welcomed. Unlike the St. Patrick’s Day parade in New York City, where they don’t exactly encourage openly gay men. They don’t seem to mind the priests, though, do they? Hey, look, forget the parade, we’ve got a great show, and I’m gonna have a ball, and so are you, because my fave disco diva is here – Kylie Minogue! So stick around, and we’ll be right back!

Author: Don Roy King

Don Roy King is directing his fourteenth season of Saturday Night Live. That work has earned him nine Emmys and thirteen nominations. Additionally, he has been nominated for thirteen DGA Awards and won in 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. Mr. King is also the creative director of Broadway Worldwide which brings theatrical events to theaters. The company has produced Smokey Joe’s Café; Putting It Together with Carol Burnett; Jekyll & Hyde; and Memphis, all directed by Mr. King. He completed the screen capture of Broadway's Romeo & Juliet in 2013. - LinkedIn View all posts by Don Roy King